It was about 20 years ago, I was then in the Jesuit
noviciate in Calcutta, India. I had just begun to learn English. I would read
all sorts of magazines, books and would collect phrases or sentences that would
appeal to me. One day, I happened to read an article titled ‘my first heart
beats’. The title captured my attention. It was very simple but catchy. I still
remember the title, though I don’t remember the content of the article. I
wanted to write an article and use the same title. Finally, just two days ago, I
had an experience that made me to feel ‘my
first heart beats’.
After the day long sessions, I was having a leisure
walk in the evening with a Jesuit friend in Berkeley, California. It is my
first visit to USA. Thus, I try to observe every little thing with uttermost
attention. After crossing the campus of
the university of California, we came to the Berkeley city centre. My friend
wanted to take an ice-cream. Due to cold weather, I decided not to take ice-cream.
But I followed my friend to the shop. Suddenly I saw a middle-aged woman
entered into the shop with her daughter. Both were in shabby dress, looking
very pale but with innocent smile. The woman asked for just one spoon full of
ice-cream for her daughter and gave one cent to the shopkeeper. The little girl
was extremely happy when she got just one spoon of ice-cream. The woman made
her to say ‘thank you’ before taking ice-cream. Then they went out of the shop.
Everything was happening so fast that I did not know what to do. I was just
overserving them helplessly.
There was an elderly gentleman, sitting just near the
door asking for alms. As the lady came out of the shop, he called her and wanted
to give her ten dollars to buy an ice-cream for her daughter. The woman gently
declined to take the money from him. She thanked him again and again.
I overserved everything from the shop. I immediately
came out of the shop and thanked the elderly man. He looked at me and said, “it
is nothing special. I wanted to give an ice-cream for the little girl. They
must be having financial cries.”
I was stunned. I lost in words. It was for the first
time in America that my heart beats…yes, really I felt it. The smiling face of
the girl, the kind gesture of the elderly man and love of a mother will remain
with me always…
